Crocs, the casual footwear maker in Broomfield, Colorado, has named India one of its top-priority markets and says the country is now a sourcing and manufacturing base for its worldwide business, The Hindu BusinessLine reported on Tuesday.
Varun Sehgal, Crocs’ senior vice president and general manager for Asia Pacific, said the company has moved India into its “tier-1 priority markets.” India grew at a double-digit rate in the June quarter, he said, and the growth has continued.
“In the APAC region, India, China, and Japan are among the critical markets that we are focusing on in terms of growth,” Sehgal said.
A supply base for other markets
Five factories in India, all run by partners, make Crocs products. Sehgal said the factories serve India and the company’s other markets. “We have a diversified supply chain, and India is an important sourcing and manufacturing base for us,” he said. He added that this has helped address some geopolitical concerns.
More stores, and the first it owns
Sehgal said Crocs began the year with 300 stores in India and has added more than twenty since. Most are run by partners, which lets the company reach smaller cities. Crocs now plans to open its own store in Greater Noida, in northern India, later this year. Sehgal described company-owned stores as a new part of the strategy there.
The company is also adding products. Sehgal said sandals have done well in India, and Crocs has added accessories, bags and the Echo line of shoes. Earlier this year it named cricketer K L Rahul its brand ambassador in India. Sehgal also pointed to a large base of young, digitally active shoppers as a reason to expand online and in stores.
Why it matters
Crocs now treats India as a market and a factory base at once. For American consumer brands, that pairing is a template: build supply there, then sell to the people who live there.
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